Patrick Corbin underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in March and some pitchers return in 12 months, but the Diamondbacks have all but ruled out the 25-year-old left-hander for the beginning of next season.

In fact, manager Kirk Gibson told Scott Bodrow of the Arizona Republic that they’re targeting June for Corbin’s return, adding:

He’d probably punch me if heard me saying that but you’re really going to take your time and make sure he’s ready to go. You’re not going to expect him to come back and throw 220 innings. You kind of manage his rehab through innings and put him in a position to finish strong. We’re going to make sure we err on the side of very cautious.

Arizona watching as Daniel Hudsonneeded back-to-back Tommy John surgeries and several of the organization’s other prominent pitchers blew out their elbows recently probably pushed them further down the conservative approach, which is certainly fine. Prior to going under the knife Corbin threw 208 innings with a 3.41 ERA and 178 strikeouts as a 23-year-old in 2013. They need him for the next half-decade, not the first couple months of next season.